


Lapsang Souchong

by Yngvildr the Voracious (Yngvildr_the_Voracious)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blackwatch as Demon Hunters and supernatural creatures, Demon AU, Demon Hanzo Shimada, M/M, Oni Genji, Overwatch characters as supernatural creatures, Van Helsing McCree, hunters au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-04 06:35:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15835752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yngvildr_the_Voracious/pseuds/Yngvildr%20the%20Voracious
Summary: The pinks and greys of the skies were disturbed by an ominous dark red glow. The smoky scent of gunpowder and tea wafted through the air and condensed, a dark flight that permeated the nostrils, coating them with a peppery powder that made it itch for release. Hanzo did not cough or sneeze, though. He watched the clouds unfurl and the wings of the owl stretch in slow motion before the chase started. His body, snaking and slithering across the skies followed the trail, hyper aware of the setting sun casting a purple glow in the sky and denying the treeline below any light, making the forest a dark sea.





	1. Chapter 1

The chill of the night air bit into his skin as he tried to light his cigar. There was no use. No matter how Jesse McCree turned, the Gods had decided that he would not be able to smoke tonight.  Somewhere, Angela must be cackling like a witch.

 

Putting back lighter and deadly implement in their places on his person, Jesse McCree took a deep breath and a mental picture of the setting sun. 

 

The way the clouds darkened on the horizon, turning an ominous shade of purple by the light of the sun, did not announce an easy hunt for tonight. He would need to be careful, he thought as he stepped out of the village’s little bar and crossed the main street. 

 

His target was downright nasty. Something fierce and sadistic that left bodies mangled and bruised, dessicated and shriveled like an empty juice box. Except it wasn’t blood the demon thirsted for, the hunter reckoned. 

 

The darkness felt like lead when he stepped into the big stretch of woods, away from the small patch of civilization behind him. He would not find his quarry at the bar, eager to share a whiskey and laughing at his bad pickup lines. 

 

It was time to hunt, justice wasn’t going to dispense itself and judging by the tracks he found, Jesse expected the fight to be long and arduous. Maybe the hardest of his life and now he was a lone cowboy. He sighed at the thought of older times, when he was with his old squad. 

 

They had been a combination of the best, the most ruthless, the most cunning and the deadliest sons of bitches out there. Despite how it went down (in flames), Jesse McCree had fond memories of the Blackwatch Team. He simply tried to uphold what they used to stand for. 

 

And right now, he stood for the blood tracks in the dirt, might as well call them puddles. Jesse was surprised to see no limbs, only feathers. He tried to wrack his head about feathered demons but couldn't remember one. Reyes had been the one who knew them all. 

 

The track ended abruptly in a clearing. The moonless sky was the color of lead, no stars to be found under the heavy clouds. The air was thick and heavy, reminding McCree of magical lairs. That of hags and witches. Jesse palmed the cross of the revolver at his belt. He was close. 

 

\---

 

The pinks and greys of the skies were disturbed by an ominous dark red glow. The smoky scent of gunpowder and tea wafted through the air and condensed, a dark flight that permeated the nostrils, coating them with a peppery powder that made it itch for release. Hanzo did not cough or sneeze, though. He watched the clouds unfurl and the wings of the owl stretch in slow motion before the chase started. His body, snaking and slithering across the skies followed the trail, hyper aware of the setting sun casting a purple glow in the sky and denying the treeline below any light, making the forest a dark sea.  The clearing where he followed the owl was not empty. A mortal man was walking in it, his steps careful and his eyes peeled. 

 

Hanzo would be seen. 

 

He looked like nothing much at first glance, but Hanzo had been acquainted with Hunters. He knew the way the man’s spine straightened was not coincidental. He had the sense for the supernatural and the Beyond and Hanzo had stayed too long in his presence already. He should leave.

 

Hanzo started to billow back to the upper plane when the gunshots started to echo.

 

___

 

He felt it. He felt it come and it came to maim and kill. It was as if the clearing, while it was not about to host a fair maid’s wedding with all that blood, had been desecrated on the spot. His Hunter’s sense was tingling and he tensed before he shot, cursing himself on missing the black bundle of feathers. 

 

He ran after it, the branches whipping his face and his feet avoiding the roots only by miracle. The chase was on, burning his lungs and speeding his blood. The thrill, he thought as he rolled and landed behind a moss covered rise to take cover behind a fallen tree trunk when the prey veered abruptly. 

 

The feathered smoke, smelling of gunpowder and smoke had turned around and Jesse was ready, already taking aim. 

 

Why wasn’t he shooting. He was not sure, but it might have something to do with the way the shadowy form coalesced at the edges, like a black blood stain, clotting. Somewhere, Symmetra is feeling validated in how her student remembered her lessons while under the overpowering blood pumping effects of the hunt.

 

But that was what Jesse was good at, right? What had made Reyes take a liking to him, train him and make him into a proper hunter. Jesse McCree took a deep breath and rose back from his crouching position. 

 

A lance of pain shot through his left eye, but it was inconsequential as the world slowed and the very threads composing it unraveled before it. 

 

Hidden, behind the smoke, a simple illusion, a ghost of peppery wind, was another. One Jesse recognised, having worked alongside one long ago. 

 

Narrowing down the actual target was the hardest part, the most painful part but when the hunter pulled the trigger, he didn’t miss his mark. 

 

The hiss and the cavernous laugh echoing against the trees shook him out of his state before he could make the most of it. Disoriented, Jesse rolled backwards, trying to avoid a blow, but the smoke cloud was coming onto him and coming fast. 

 

The angry Japanese curse, booming, heralded no mercy and Jesse wondered if it was aimed for him before he choked on the tendrils blossoming around his neck and coating his nose, throat and lungs with their burn. 

 

The low light dimmed. The Oni tore the black smoke apart with dragon jaws and turned around to stare at Jesse. 

 

Blackness.


	2. Chapter 2

When Jesse came back to consciousness, he was on a hard mattress in a dark room. He was about to get up when the voice rang into his ears. 

 

_ Slow down. _

 

“Well, you didn’t say stop.” he muttered.

 

His body ached and burned. It was a heavy and slow rise from the futon as he touched his ribs, evaluating the damage and finding clean linens wrapping his torso. A hand to his head allowed him to realise someone had taken his hat and similarly bandaged a head wound. 

 

“I don't care what you did, but if my hat isn't…”

 

Magically, it appeared on Jesse's knees. Looking around, to the shoji and the painted fusuma as well as the tatami his futon was on, it wasn't hard to figure out where he was.

 

“Only been to an oni's lair once before. It wasn't fun.”

 

_ If this is a threat, it would be disheartening but also easy to undo my work. _

 

Jesse chuckled. 

 

“Just noticing you have a much better grasp on housework and decoration than that fella I knew.”

 

The voice did not answer. The kind of deep leaden silence that came with uneasiness settled into the room. It made Jesse wonder how he was still alive in the first place. His old oni friend hadn't been keen on first aid. 

 

“You have my thanks for patching me up. Thought I was a goner.” Jesse said, genuinely grateful. 

 

_ I thought I had been caught too. _

 

“Aw, shoot, you don't have to get to my mortal level, I know you could have gotten away with a sliver of life, oni being eternal and all that.”

 

_ There are ways to kill oni. _ The voice snapped, cold. 

 

“Less than ways to kill a human.” 

 

_ You are not human. _

 

Jesse humphed and deflected with flirting, his specialty according to his oni friend.

 

“I'm as human as they come, with all the interesting fleshy bits.”

 

A cold laughter rung out and suddenly, Jesse's eyes could make out the gaseous form in the air, in shape of a long serpentine cloud. 

 

_ This has to be the worst proposition I ever had. _

 

“Worked on my oni buddy.” Jesse smiled, staring directly, maybe a bit fondly to the barely noticeable cloud. 

 

_ Your… Oni  _ buddy _ … _

 

“What about him?”

 

_ Is he the one who taught you how to see? _

 

And just like that, the invisible cloud coalesced into a long slithering dragon that slowly dropped into a neat pile right in front of Jesse. 

 

“Nah. That's my old jefe. Used to run a tight creature hunting group. The oni friend was part of it. We were the best. Because we understood the bad guys. Helped us figure out which ones needed real killing…”

 

“And which ones needed help.” The voice said, coming from the general vicinity of the dragon. “Your… Jefe… as the leader of a Hunter's group, he would have been privy to a Bestiary.”

 

“Indeed.” Jesse said. “You need one of those?”

 

“I seek revenge against a creature that managed to set me up that way, trap me in front of a hunter.”

 

“Never was my intention to kill someone who did no harm.”

 

The dragon shivered. Well, if the fella felt guilty over something, Jesse hadn't heard of it yet and a formal complaint had to be filed and a fee paid before he could go a huntin. No vigilante bullshit my watch, Reyes’ said. 

 

Jesse was determined to uphold these rules, no matter if they were not a full group anymore, there just was a good and a right way. 

 

“I know it is unusual, but I wish to take a look at it and see if there is any chance to find this creature again and kill it.” the voice politely asked. The dragon’s head tilted to add emphasis.

 

“Well, it is a great idea. Problem is, my boss is dead and he told no one where his Bestiary was or who it was. I don't even know the details of his particular one.” Jesse explained. “Hope you're not going to kill me now.”

 

“That would be ridiculous after I have spent hours tending to your wounds.” the voice dismissed at once. “No. The best course of action is to ask your group for clues about its location. Senior members if you can.”

 

“Well, I'm the senior member, but my jefe had friends. Heads of other groups. I know there's one I could look into. Unless you want to meet my oni friend and judge him on his particular taste in lairs and lack of skills when it pertains to healing...” 

 

“I think you are talking about yourself. I knew mortals have needs but I always thought there was a distinction between your lot and animals.”

 

It was Jesse's turn to guffaw.

 

“I like talking with you. Name's Jesse McCree and I agree to help you get revenge on that bastard. Would be nice to have a partner, it's been a while.”

 

The air shifted again but this time, the oni made the dragon shift and take not the form of a gas cloud or that of the giant Jesse briefly saw in the woods. It was a similar sized human, maybe a bit taller, tattooed, long haired and beautiful. A pretty sight.

 

“My name is Hanzo.” The oni said upon taking Jesse's hand to shake.

 

___

 

The furrowing of Jesse McCree's brows at the mention of his name was imperceptible but Hanzo put it on the way he seemed to see past illusions so easily. He might be instinctively trying to look past the metamorphosis. This hunter was hunting creatures less than he was seeking truths. 

 

The moment lingered. Hanzo couldn't believe how hot the human's hands were. 

 

“Who would know about this Bestiary?” he asked, unwilling to get distracted.

 

“To be honest, the person who would is a bit elusive. I’d have to ask a friend about her whereabouts first. It’s also very probable that he doesn’t know where she is.”

 

“Lead the way.”

 

“It’s my oni friend, don’t you have rules about lairs or something?”

 

Hanzo pinched the bridge of his nose briefly. 

 

“If I must, I will stay outside. Please, let us be on our way.”

 

“Alright... “

 

The trip was long. Too long for Hanzo. He needed to get to this creature. He felt insecure knowing he had been led into such a trap. Now he would risk his life again by trespassing in another oni’s territory, but he had to. He had to follow this human with his human means of transportation. The walk was the most tedious one. Thankfully, the plane, though strange, seemed to go faster than a boat would. Mortals had stepped up their game. 

 

It had been a while since Hanzo had seen the mountains he thought, as he glanced through the window as the plane landed in Nepal. 

 

Jesse McCree, bundled up, rigged them for more walking then. They were close, Hanzo could feel it. He made himself look even littler, his pride at being taller than the man who saved his life not as important as not provoking his peer. 

 

Then it hit him. The familiar scent. It was impossible. 

 

“Oi! Genji, you little shit! Come down from your little meditation session, we gotta talk!” the mortal man bellowed once they were close to a monastery. 

 

Windows opened and clanked on walls when a mortal looking form opened them. His hair was a shocking green but what gutter Hanzo like a ritual knife was his face. Scarred. Rent. Hanzo transformed into his gaseous nothingness and fled. 

 

_ Genji. How are you alive? _


End file.
